- David Pagnotta says several teams have called Detroit about Alex DeBrincat
- The 41-goal winger holds a 16-team no-trade list with one year left on his deal
- Read below for the six clubs already circling and what it means for Yzerman’s summer
Dylan Larkin’s trade request cracked Detroit’s summer wide open. Now the phone is ringing about somebody else.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that several teams have called the Red Wings about winger Alex DeBrincat. He hasn’t asked out the way his captain did. This is outside interest leaning on a door that might already be open.
Pagnotta named six clubs poking around: the Oilers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, Devils, Kraken and Sabres. Every one of them wants the same thing, a top-line scorer who can wake up a power play.
DeBrincat fits that to a tee. He just posted 41 goals and 85 points, both team highs, for a Detroit club that watched the playoffs from the couch again.
The contract is where it gets tricky. DeBrincat is entering the final year of a four-year, $31.5 million deal that carries a $7.875 million cap hit for 2026-27. He can sign an extension as early as July 1, and he hits free agency next summer if he doesn’t.
He also holds a 16-team no-trade list, so the Farmington Hills, Michigan native gets a real say in where this lands.
Take a look at the player Detroit might be shopping:
Steve Yzerman has a call to make. If Larkin gets moved and the rebuild ramps back up, cashing in on a 28-year-old sniper with one year left beats letting him walk for nothing.
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs in a decade. Moving the guy who led the team in goals would sting, but Yzerman has never been shy about selling a year early instead of a year late.
